RICHMOND, Va. — State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor by a narrow margin statewide, but dominated in Richmond where former Mayor Levar Stoney had served for eight years.
Richmond voters cited water issues and casino controversies as key factors in their decision to support Hashmi over their former mayor in Tuesday's primary election.
"I think definitely some opinions of Mayor Stoney's experience in the city probably swayed some voters against him," one Richmond voter said.
The election results show Hashmi won statewide by just over 3,500 votes. But in the city of Richmond, her margin was a stunning 10,500 votes.
"If Levar Stoney had just taken out the city of Richmond out of the vote count, he would have won statewide," said CBS 6 political analyst Bob Holsworth.
Holsworth explained that the water crises that began with a boil water advisory shortly after Stoney left office in January fueled voter anger that may have still been simmering because of Stoney's support for a casino that failed to pass his last year in office.
"All the people who didn't like him for the casino would have come out and voted against him, but what happened in the interim was the water crisis, and the water crisis essentially had been blamed on the fact that many citizens believe he did not do enough to address it during the eight years that he was mayor," Holsworth said.
Despite winning reelection handily five years ago, Tuesday's vote made clear Richmond has moved on from its former mayor.
"Being in Richmond, we have more personal experience with Stoney, and because of the things that came out after he was in office for a bit, it felt a bit weird to me," another voter said.
Holsworth summed up the situation: "It was here in the City of Richmond that cost him his dream of being a lieutenant governor."
When CBS 6 asked Senator Hashmi about her strong performance in Richmond, she did not mention Stoney but pointed to her 30 years as an educator in Richmond, particularly at a community college where she built relationships that her work as a senator has only strengthened.
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